Posts Tagged: Stagmomantis limbata

Henrietta, our Stagmomantis limbata praying mantis, perches on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia).
She is as patient as she is persistent.
The drone fly, aka syrphid and also known as a hover fly or flower fly, makes the fatal mistake of touching down on...

Talk about the unexpected.
“Look!” says Jim.
He pauses by the kitchen counter.
"Over there!” he says, pointing. I don't see anything except the half-filled coffee pot.
Then I see it. "There," as in “over there,” is a...

Hide and seek.
She hides 'em and we seek 'em.
We've spotted as many as seven adult praying mantids at a time in our little pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. but never once have we seen any of them laying eggs.
Until now.
We know that a praying...

Ms. Mantis, on a redwood stake in a milkweed planter in Vacaville, Calif., is trying to find a place to lay her egg mass, an ootheca. This image was taken Sunday night, Sept. 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ms. Mantis, on a redwood stake in a milkweed planter in Vacaville, Calif., is trying to find a place to lay her egg mass, an ootheca. This image was taken Sunday night, Sept. 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This looks like a good spot. This praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, is native to North America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This looks like a good spot. This praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, is native to North America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Last summer you may have happened upon praying mantids mating.
Hopefully, the male didn't lose his head.
Which begs a question asked by a reader: How long after mating does the female lay or produce her egg case (ootheca)?
"Usually it takes a week or...

Mating pair of Stagmomantis limbata, a common mantis in Vacaville, Calif. The male did not lose his head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mating pair of Stagmomantis limbata, a common mantis in Vacaville, Calif. The male did not lose his head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mating pair of mega mantids, Plistospilota guineensis. These mantids are part of Andrew Pfeifer's collection in Monroe County, N.C. See the result below! (Photo by Andrew Pfeifer)

Mating pair of mega mantids, Plistospilota guineensis. These mantids are part of Andrew Pfeifer's collection in Monroe County, N.C. See the result below! (Photo by Andrew Pfeifer)

Praying mantis authority Andrew Pfeifer, who administers the public Facebook page, Mantis Keepers, captured this image of his Plistospilota guineensis ootheca. It's about the size of a large chicken egg. (Photo by Andrew Pfeifer)

Praying mantis authority Andrew Pfeifer, who administers the public Facebook page, Mantis Keepers, captured this image of his Plistospilota guineensis ootheca. It's about the size of a large chicken egg. (Photo by Andrew Pfeifer)